Blank Space
by mauveshadows
Summary: Kelly Blank is the newest resident therapist in The Institute, a mental facility for the anger, and the mentally ill. Being that she specialized in psychology of the human brain, she thought her new job would be a breeze... but then again, she had no idea of the dark history that resided behind the stone walls of the institution. [Randy/Kelly] [Romance/Supernatural/Suspense]
1. Surfacing

**A/N**: A new story, &amp; I know I've been quite away for sometime, but that doesn't mean I'm 100% through with writing new stories, as well as updating the current ones like Castle Walls. So no, I'm not done yet. As far as this goes, I've been inspired to write something on the lines of 'crazy, kind of psychotic, suspense, supernatural &amp; horror' kind of story [wow that was quite a mouthful]. To tell you the truth, this will be more on the supernatural/suspense genre, so don't be so surprised.

Yes, there will be romance. The dark, mysterious, Randy Orton meets the beautiful, smart, Kelly Blank. &amp; As much as some of you may like Taylor Swift, no, this fic is **not **based off her song. I thought the title was quite fitting for a story like this so I went with it.

The setting takes place in New Jersey, in an abandoned made up part of town that I randomly came up with, called Linden Pines. There's a bit of background information of this made up part of town that I created for the sake of creating the right atmosphere, and then it will lead up to the real plot of the story.

* * *

_"Many try to bury the sins of the past. But if you deny them, pretend they never happened, wish them all away, they will come back to the surface a million times stronger."_

Ranse Truman, "Surfacing", The Suffering

* * *

Lindenwold, New Jersey, at least to most people, was known for it's bad reputation. The people living there would tell you the public school systems, the people, the crime, was pretty bad, and sure, the only upside to living in the small town was the seemingly nice weather, but none of the town's bad reputation compared to the town living behind the Lindenwold border.

In an abandoned part of New Jersey, somewhere located off the border of Lindenwold, there was a building that stood alone on top of a hill. The large sign that indicated a traveler's whereabouts was broken completely in half, the left half of the sign was dirty, and it stood up-right, in a pile of dried up mud. If you were to put the pieces of the sign together, physically, or in your mind, the sign would read _'Linden Pines.'_

Take the bad reputation in Lindenwold, multiply it by 10, and you get Linden Pines. Anyone living in this town would tell you that you're a lot better off living inside the border away from the Pines. Crime in Lindenwold was tolerable, medoicore at best, but compare it to living in the Pines last for a week, and you'll be moving away from the town in a fluster, screaming about how crime in Linden Pines is insufferable.

The people who managed to tolerate living in the Pines, were stuck up. No one was able to leave Linden Pines in a quiet, peaceful matter, not without those stuck up bastards, screaming about how weak you were for not being able tolerate living in this town.

Who would want to live around people who were condescending toward you all the time? Who would want to live around people who treated this town as if this is survival of the fittest, where only the strong survive? Not anyone. But in Linden Pines, it mind as well be survival of the fittest.

However, on top of this town's bad reputation, like a cherry on top of ice cream, was the facility that stood on the hill. The building could at first be mistaken as a rich, mansion, but up close, you could see that this 'mansion' looks more so like a asylum.

And an asylum it is - a mental asylum called The Institute.

The Gothic architecture of The Institute was rich, and styled by the McMahon's years ago. It was built, and created by Roderick McMahon, the first of the McMahon family line that ran the asylum for years before it was gradually passed down to each McMahon, every death, or every retirement. It was once a successful institution, that would shape up, even the craziest of men and women.

The Institute was successful for many years - until a particular death shut down the facility.

No one knew the story behind the death's, all but maybe one person.

There was an investigation into the death of Bob Orton Jr, a well-known researcher turned patient of The Institute. He was thrown into the asylum once he uncovered some crazy, supernatural story that no one believed, and as far as his death was concerned, it was determined as a suicide, as there was no evidence that supported the possibility of him being murdered.

So after a few years of being closed down, The Institute, though rotten from being unused for a couple of years, was open again.

Till this day, The Institute remains known as a mental facility notorious for their harsh methods, harsh methods that normally resulted in mysterious disappearances, and killings, though most people inhabiting the building, whether it be a patient, staff or a doctor, didn't know anything about that.

If Randy took a wild guess, he would say that maybe, perhaps maybe a _few _staff, and one patient out of the entire building, knew of the Institutes past. He was one of those patients. The McMahon family owned The Institute, and with all of their money, it would be quite easy for them to make the past, all of the blood, disappear.

It wouldn't be hard to do it, if they tried - Randy thought bitterly. _Fucking sheeple_, he thought,_ these people are so easily blinded by the bullshit that's thrown in the face, they aren't willing to look close enough to find the real truth. _

Randy's a patient currently serving his time in the Institute. He didn't believe he was crazy, only that he had anger management issues, and sure, there's a history of it, but he had no trouble at all keeping his cool until that blasted day in the bar.

**...**

_It was a dreadful day in Linden Pines, it's not like it was always sunny out, Randy thought bitterly, because it never was. He remembered himself storming out of his house one day, after a heated argument with his wife Samantha, about his father's death. She confronted him about digging too much into his father's death, and she feared that something may happened to him if he became a man that knew too much._

_Like he gave a damn about what might happen to him, Randy thought. As selfish as that may sound, he didn't care, because he deserved the right to know what REALLY happened to his father. _

_And as much as he would like to let it go because his wife asked him too, he couldn't. He couldn't sleep - couldn't move forward with his life unless he knew the truth about his father's death. _

_He refused to believe it was a suicide. **Refused. **_

_Why would a fucking institution close down after a 'suicide' anyway? It was one suicide, not two or three. Any other institution, would've kept running after just one suicide, not close down, unexpectedly. It was - just too hard to believe that his Dad committed suicide out of the blue, and that The Institute just shut down right after that._

_It seemed fishy, and Randy didn't like it one bit. _

_And on top of that, however, it wasn't too long ago where Randy found out that the material his Dad discovered had something to do with the origins of The Institute, and with that knowledge, it only doubled his suspicions, that perhaps his father's death was no suicide.  
_

_He didn't know, and he vowed that he would find out soon, but right now, he wanted to drink himself into oblivion. He wanted to forget about this stupid town, that stupid institution... stupid everything!_

_He stormed into a place called The Underground, a bar established by his friend, John, and it became a place of escape for the young man. He was fine until a strange man approached him, and started to talk about Sam.  
_

_"Hey, I know your old lady, fucking nice rack - wouldn't mind a piece of that. What I hear, she's up for it." _

_"Watch what you are saying to my friends!" It was John, who all but screamed at the mere stranger in Randy's defense. "You're in my place - and you're going to show some respect to a man with a family." _

_"Please," Randy said simply. "Don't put my wife and kid into this. I'm really not in the mood."  
_

_"Oh that fucking whore you married to you mean? How you even know that kid is yours?" _

_And that was the end of it, Randy flew into a blind fit of rage, and pummeled the guy. He would have killed him if John hadn't hopped over the counter to stop his friend from opening up the guy's brain matter all over his brand new floor.  
_

**...**

And that was how Randy Orton ended up behind the Institute walls. Even now, as he gets hauled away by two security officers for breaking into their filing office again, he has no regrets - even at the cost of his marriage with Samantha, he will never have any regrets.

It was selfish - and it was crazy to see how obsessed he became with the truth, but if he had to be thrown in this damned place to learn what was what, then so be it, he didn't really give a damn, being locked in the Institute walls, and living in Linden Pines... it makes no difference, ... death is everywhere.

"Fucking ridiculous this is, this is the second time today that you've been giving us a problem, Orton." Hunter, Head Security of the Institute said while spitting in his face in utter disgust.

"When are you going to learn? Honestly, - I don't know how you're able to survive being in isolation, you damn fool!" It was Shane who spoke next, Hunter's brother-in-law, and one of the main people who ran the Institute in a 24-7 basis, him and his father, Vince McMahon, and sister, Stephanie McMahon.

Shane and Hunter took care of most of the issues here, though Randy felt like Shane had no place to tell him what to do, for everything that was done to make this goddamn place successful was done by his father. His children on the other hand? They've done nothing to earn the rights to run this place.

Truthfully, if there names weren't _McMahon _then they would've been tossed to the curb a long time ago, but because of that reason, for them having the name, McMahon, everything was handed to them on a silver platter. Vince had ran The Institute for years, and then what? Just decides to hand over his control to his spoiled children with no reason?

No wonder his children were spoiled brats.

Hunter on the other hand, he was different. Randy gave _him _his proper respect for his well-contributed ways to help make this place successful, he was head of security, and he was Vince's right hand man, but Vince's bastard children deserved nothing from him.

When he heard that he was being thrown into isolation, he almost wanted to smile in amusement, particularly at Shane for making the remark. Randy hasn't been here long enough, he's been here for one week, and out of that week he's been in isolation, 3 times, and it hasn't once cracked him in the slightest bit.

It was amazing, everyone thought, that for such a short amount of time, Randy already became a pain in the ass for the staff and doctors. Randy could imagine what everyone else must be saying about him - that he was insane for going to great lengths to finding out the truth about his Dad.

To be thrown in isolation, was absolutely bananas!

Give a patient two nights in isolation, lock them inside with nothing but padded ceiling walls, and floors, and nobody there but yourself and the darkness, and he'd be driven nearly to madness. Give him two more nights, and he'd kill himself. That's how it usually goes, but for Randy, he swore to himself that he would not be like the others, and for some strange reason, he'd grown comfortable to the eerie silences, and the solitude.

He trained himself, his mind, to survive the nights in isolation. He came to Institute, not only to serve his time out for the fight, and have doctors treat him, and teach him to control his anger, but he came for a purpose.

_They can keep throwing me in here all they want - I won't let this place beat me, _He thought to himself, as he was thrown into the said padding cell. The two men shook his head at him, and Shane whispered something into Hunter's ear, before walking off.

"You're son of Junior, aren't you?"

"You're just now noticing?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. If Hunter looked bothered at all by his sarcasm, he didn't let it break his stoic mask.

"He lasted for two months. If you keep this up you know, you won't even survive one. You won't see the break of day with this behavior, just these walls - and just because you lasted 3 nights in here, doesn't mean you'll last a week."

"We'll see about that." He said, as his icy blue eyes squinted at the head of security. "What are you going to do, Hunter? Keep me in here forever? Till I die? Like father like son right?"

Hunter hesitated, and Randy was on him like a cat pouncing on his prey. "You don't know anything, kid. Not about what happened with your Dad." Hunter said sternly.

"Yeah? But I get a feeling that you do."

There was an intense silence, and Hunter, with low growl in his throat, glared at him. "Just get your shit together," And then he walked out, slamming the door on him, and leaving Randy in the darkness. Clearly, anyone who worked inside the Institute walls knew what happened to his father, at least - people like Hunter or maybe Vince, so it's no surprise to him that Hunter would back pedal at avoiding discussing the matter of his father's death.

Sooner or later, The Institute, it's origins, their sins, and the matter of his father's death will come back to haunt them all - because everyone knows that what's done in the dark, always comes to the light.

* * *

**A/N:** Clearly, there's a matter of mystery going on here. What happened to Randy's Dad? That, along with the history that you will learn will be the main drive of this story. Kelly will make her entrance perhaps... in the next chapter maybe? Who knows?

This is an intro, told sort of through Randy's eyes, Chapter 2, and onwards (unless I say so otherwise) will be through Kelly's eyes.

Keep or delete? I'm actually willing to write this story, so... I might just keep it. But what do you guys think?


	2. Hopeless Bleak Despair

**A/N: **It's almost 3:00 in the morning here, and I cannot sleep. _ So I thought, why not use this energy to update this? Here's chapter 2! Thanks a bunch, to all of you for reviewing! And **disclaimer: **I don't own these awesome Ranse Truman quotes, one that you saw in the previous chapter, and the quote below. They belong to Midway, and of course, I don't own Kelly, or Randy.

* * *

_"Those trapped in misery dream of escape. But just when you think you've made it out, it turns out you've never really left."_

~ Ranse Truman "Hopeless Bleak Despair", The Suffering: Ties That Bind

* * *

She didn't think she was crazy.

If you ask Kelly Blank, what her dream job is - she'd tell you her dream was becoming a therapist. She didn't know what it was about the particular job that made her so interested, perhaps, she thought, it was the curiosity that she always had for people who did questionable things, or people who weren't able to control their anger. It was, in a strange, and unusual way, fascinating to think about how the human mind works with these people.

She wanted to know what made them tick, she wanted to know how they operate, she wanted to know what made someone who's considered 'mentally unstable' different from those who were mentally stable. Obviously they had to think some sort of way about a subject, or the world presented in front of them, the question is what? What was it?

She wanted to know everything. And a therapist was something she knew she would enjoy if it would satisfy her hunger, and desire to feed into her curiosity with knowledge.

So why when she told her friend, Eve Torres, of her new job in The Institute, was the brunette looking at her with a level, narrow look? She'd learn so much in psychology about how to read into people's facial expressions, but the look she was giving her held more than just concern, it was more like _What the hell were you thinking? _or an _Are you fucking crazy? _kind of look. A look that basically summed up that Eve was a little less than pleased that her friend had required this new job.

"Eve," The brunette began. "When I said I got a job at The Institute, I thought you would be happy for me."

The second brunette let out a small smile. "I am happy, a little bit, it's just - why _there?_" Her face became screwed up with disgust when she thought

"The Institute?" Kelly cocked her head to the side. "It's the only place that has an opening, Eve." She held up the acceptance letter, one which, after applying for the job, and attending the interview, informed her that she was welcomed into the facility as the new therapist.

Eve swatted the letter away with her fingers, and let out a huff.

"Yeah, I knew _that. _But do _you _know what kind of reputation this place has? I couldn't imagine you working in such a place, and if anything, I think you deserve a lot better than working at The Institute in Linden Pines." They stood together in an apartment of Kelly's home, each drinking a bottle of water in the kitchen of Kelly's home, after going out for a run around town.

"You talk as if you knew the history behind that place. Do you know? Because if you do, you would've told me by now if you were so concerned." The brunette snapped back at her friend impatiently, and Eve placed her water bottle aside on the small wooden kitchen table. That's how it usually went with the two of them when they argued, once anger settles in on Kelly's usually soft, and happy features, then it was time for Eve to lower her guns and raise the white flag.

That was Kelly Blank for you - stubborn like a bull.

"Alright, alright." Eve sighed in defeat, "I don't know, and I'm sorry for reacting like this, but could you at least, be careful." Eve insisted. "Because I may not know the exact history behind that place, but I did hear from a few people that The Institute in The Pines, holds quite a reputation. That place, it's notorious, so please Kell, don't get your head so wrapped up in what you love to do and keep an eye out."

Kelly couldn't help herself - as angry as she was at Eve, she smiled. She was always considerate, and always concerned for her, it was touching to see, for Kelly, didn't have anyone to lean back on for this kind of care. Her parents passed away, and she has no brothers or sisters. She's single, and she's living alone in the small town of Lindenwold with Eve Torres, being the only friend (at least at the moment) she made upon moving here recently.

Her life in Jacksonville was hectic, and lonely, sure she was busy with getting her license, and degree, but sometimes, she became so busy she would often find herself sulking on special occasions like her birthday, or Christmas and Valentine's Day. She remembered feeling so drained, and being so alone, it was awful... and it didn't help as much that she'd spend more time working to avoid confronting those feelings of loneliness.

But now that she was finally getting a job that she worked so hard for, she felt like she was at a place where she can be genuinely happy.

"Thanks Eve, I appreciate the concern." She took a swig of water from her water bottle. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll let you know how my first day goes."

Eve nodded. "I can live with that. What you need to do though, is get yourself a boyfriend. You've been single too long, Kelly girl!" Her friend chimed, and Kelly laughed. "Uh - okay, I'll be sure to look around for that right guy, then!"

* * *

In the midst of her excitement for her first day in The Institute, Kelly seemingly forgot about the kind of reputation that Lindenwold had.

Getting on the bus, and riding to Linden Pines had been... interesting, from what she heard from a few people. She wasn't paying attention to what happened, she had ear buds in her ears, listening to Justin Timberlake's _'Amnesia'._ But she knew that once the bus had finally stopped, and she finally took out her ear buds, two people, who had been apparently shouting at each other about some nonsense from the start of the bus ride all the way to the end, were just about ready to brawl with each other to prove a point.

Kelly ceased the urge to roll her eyes. When she moved here, she learned that Lindenwold, New Jersey was once a happy, nice, decent town. Crime wasn't as bad, the school system, and the people were tolerable, but now - things seemed to be different. Darkness... has a way of devouring even the nicest things in life.

She looked around the area until she finally saw the large, mansion like building, with the words, _The Institute _carved into a sign, just above the huge wooden double doors standing on top of a hill. Despite the dreary atmosphere surrounding the building, the bare trees and tree branches, the architecture of the facility was beautiful. It was old, but the building held some kind of elegance to it, and Kelly automatically knew that The Institute had to be owned by someone very wealthy.

She began walking up the hill, and to her surprise, she saw the wooden doors open to find a very well built man, waiting for her at the entrance. He was kind of tall, brown hair, shaved buzz cut, and a beard, wearing a suit with the _Hunter _printed on the name tag.

"Are you Ms. Blank?" Hunter asked her. Kelly nodded. "The name is Hunter Hemsley, but you can call me Hunter, everyone does. I'm the Head Security of the Institute, and I've been asked by Shane McMahon to show you around a bit."

"Alright," She nodded eagerly, and they both stepped inside.

Good God - she had never seen anything like this.

The first thing she was greeted with was the marble floor, and the Institute insignia carved into it's center. It was picture of what looked like a Celtic cross, with a banner below it, with The Institute written beautifully in cursive writing. "This," Hunter began, smiling at the awestruck expression on Kelly's face.

"Is the main lobby."

"How can something so beautiful have such a bad reputation to it?"

"What?" Hunter looked as if Kelly slapped him in the face, and Kelly, realizing that she had voiced Eve's thoughts from earlier, out loud, blushed. "I'm - I'm sorry! It's something a friend said to me once, she was just being ridiculous."

"R - Right. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure." Hunter mumbled under his breath, and he shook away whatever he had on his mind before Kelly questioned him further. He moved forward to lead Kelly around the building, showing her to the filing offices, the infirmary, showers and the courtyard.

"This is the Isolation rooms. They're padded cells, rooms where patients are thrown into once they're behavior becomes really out of control. It usually takes one night for someone to get their act together, so it's really useful." He explained, as Kelly examined one of the cells.

"There's someone inside," Kelly noted looking inside. Hunter snapped his fingers in realization, "That's right, Randy Orton, he's one of the newest patients in The Institute, and a pain in the ass already." He commented. Randy was seen slouching against the padded wall of the cell, just across from where Kelly was looking at him through the glass window of the door.

He stood up to look at her, and upon examination, he shook his head at Kelly, as if he was disapproving her presence here in the Institute.

"Don't mind him, he's a know it all. Least he acts like it," Hunter remarked, and Kelly, not bothered, and not at all intimated by his condescending gesture, looked at him thoughtfully. _A know it all, huh? _"I'll have to get Noble to escort him in and out of his cell for lunch, which speaking of, is the last of what you didn't get to see. The lunch room." He moved forward, reaching down to grab his walkie talkie, ordering this Noble person to escort duty for Randy, being the only one in Isolation, to get his lunch.

Finally, both Hunter and Kelly approached the said room. She saw every patient scattered around tables, eating, drinking, and chatting with each other, and Kelly couldn't help but think of this lunch room as a lunch room in high school, ... she almost wanted to laugh at how eerily similar it was - but then suddenly, a fight broke out.

In the corner of the lunch room, there was a man of a Samoan descent, that flipped the table over and started to scream, and shout over at another man with two different colors of hair. The man that initiated the fight had long jet black hair, and he was extremely well built with a tribal tattoo that seemed incredibly fitting for his Samoan background.

The way he screamed, and stalked over to the opposing man, punching his fist in his palm as if he was ready to punch him was a little frightening, and Kelly could almost sense the slight amount of fear coming from the man with the two toned hair.

One punch from the Samoan, to the two toned haired wonder, and that was the end of it. "Reigns!" Hunter spat, and he, along with many other security guards, charged toward Reigns all at once, retrieving him from ripping out one half of the man's hair.

At the beginning before the grabbing of the hair, Reigns punched the man so hard - there was blood on the floor, and the security guards hauled Reigns away, while he was screaming and hollering about how he was going to '_get that cocky bastard Seth Rollins!_', and Kelly stood shocked at the sudden chain of events.

That escalated quickly - and as she thought of that, there was a presence that moved behind her, and she turned to see Randy, along with Noble, Kelly assumed, walking passed her.

"Welcome to The Institute." He said to her as he walked by with a smug grin on his face.

And with one forceful tug by Noble, Randy was gone from her sights.

* * *

**A/N: **Take note, that each RT quote that you see at the beginning of the chapter, will relate to the chapter. Take it as, me translating the quote into chapter form in a sense. Well, there ya have it, chapter 2, &amp; now I'm off to get some damn sleep! :D


	3. Descending

**A/N: **You'll have to forgive me for taking a while to update this. After this it may take even longer... (sorry, guys) but a story like this calls for a poetic character like Bray Wyatt, and I need a ton of time to write poetry for Blank Space, and then probably have him recite it here for poetic, mysterious kind of vibes.

So yeah, that's my plan. It might change, but right now, after this I _need_ to put all of my energy in writing poetry for this story, (just to see what I can come up with) and update this story often, instead of (admittedly) spending a tremendous amount of time playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper on my phone. (Haha, I'm not ashamed.)

* * *

_"Take away a man's light, his clothes, his food, his friends, his air, and you leave him with nothing but himself. And for most that is not pleasant company."_

~ Ranse Truman "Descending", The Suffering

* * *

Kelly let out a breath she didn't know she was holding out.

The events in the lunch room kept replaying in her mind, and the brunette kept telling herself that it was only just her first day. And this incident occurred more or less, in the lunchroom, not in a confined space of a room like your office.

_Yeah, that's right,_ Kelly thought._ There's no need to get so worked up, and anxious on your first day. After all of that energy in convincing Eve that you'll be fine working in the Institute, and after walking in here with an air full of confidence, it'd be a waste to get all shook over a fight in the lunch room._

"Ms. Blank? I do apologize, things like this..." Hunter took a glance back at the lunch room, where guards where ordering the inmates for them to clean up and get back in their cells. "It happens on a few occasions. Those two guys they used to be really good friends from what I saw, and I have no idea what happened."

"Who are they?"

"Oh well, the guy that started the fight, that Samoan fellow, that's Roman Reigns. He's a former star football player, who made a name for himself as a middle line backer on his team. He was only so good at football because he used the sport as an outlet for his severe anger issues."

"Gosh, what happened?"

"He got so into the game, and he got so angry at another team member for scoring, he laid into him, and the poor fellow ended up in the back of an ambulance truck on a stretcher."

"Oh my, that's horrible. But what about the other guy?"

"The other was Seth Rollins. He, Roman, and another named Dean Ambrose used to be good friends, they were like brothers almost. But one night, when they tried to escape outside the walls of the Institute, Seth tried to abandon them both and make it out on his own, so Roman and Dean aren't really in good terms with him anymore." Hunter explained with a pensive look on his face.

"Since that time, we've known that Rollins has a slight case of paranoia, but thanks to his betrayal, and his former friend Reigns, and to an extent Ambrose looking to beat the breaks off of him, his paranoia began to intensify, but then again, that's not what he was sent for."

"What for then?" Kelly asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Seth was sent here for stealing a woman's purse, and then having no memory of the action. When he was arrested, he said that he blacked out, so instead of having him due time in jail for attempted theft, police decided it was best that he was sent here." Hunter shrugged.

"Anyone whether it be a criminal, or someone you might know in the street with any kind of mental issue, whether it be an actual disorder, like dementia, psychosis, manic depressive illness, or anyone experiencing psychological effects on the human brain like black outs, or hallucinations, they are sent here to get treated."

"Sent?"

"Yeah, besides criminals with mental disabilities, a relative, or a friend can enlist a loved one with a disability to be sent here. These people who are enlisted, are put through evaluation, and if all of our medical professionals, therapists and doctors think said person is mentally ill, then they are brought here."

Kelly looked flabbergasted. "So it's just like you said, anyone can be sent here, not just criminals with mental disabilities."

"That's right. This only happens on few rare occasions. Most of the time we always get street criminals, no one ever serious like murderers, or rapists, for they are sent to jail, but first rate street criminals who do first rate crimes like get into altercations, theft, stuff like that you know?" Hunter said with a nod to his head. Kelly looked around the room and saw a man with brown short hair, wearing a tank top and jeans.

"That's Dean Ambrose. He's one of the few who's actually been enlisted here in The Institute."

"He must have some issues if he's one of the few who's been brought here by someone he knows."

"Yeah, his girlfriend, Renee Young, brought him here because she claims that lately he's been displaying aggressive behavior. He's not like Roman, who has anger issues... he can be calm, and stoic, but it usually takes someone to push him over the edge to set him off his rocker, and once he has his mind set it's hard to get him back to Earth."

"I think I understand." Kelly said, earning a surprised look from Hunter. "He's so stubborn that he does things without really thinking about it, and..."

"This always puts something at risk for Dean. His health, his mental health, you name it." Hunter smiled at him. "You're quite the observant one aren't ya?"

The brunette shrugged. "Something I've learned along the way."

"Alright then, come on, I'll show you to your office, and then you'll have a little time to yourself."

* * *

Her office was located closest to the infirmary room - right down the gloomy gray walls. Her office and the infirmary room, were the only two things located in the 2nd floor of The Institute.

Kelly wasn't sure if she was supposed to be alarmed by the proximity of her office to the infirmary room. With the events of the lunch room still fresh in her mind, anyone new in the Institute, would be a little alarmed by how eerily close her office was to the infirmary.

She could hear Hunter's voice in her head now, recalling some of the things he said regarding her office, and why it was moved to the second floor. "Some_ of these patients that we deal with tend to be unpredictable..." _She remembered Hunter saying.

_"Because of __this," He had said, looking a bit uncertain. "We thought it would be best to move this office upstairs right near the infirmary."_

Most would probably be thankful that in case something happens, the infirmary being as close as it is to her office, would come in handy.

And yet, in a strange way, she felt like because she was the new therapist, her office would have to be near the infirmary in case anything were to happen to her. She doesn't know what to expect in her new job as a therapist, she didn't know anything (aside from what Eve told her) about the Institute, just that she heard it's kind of notorious for whatever reasons she did not know. And then there's the patients to consider... was her being here meant that she had to be really cautious when dealing with patients?

She could have went on right there, she could've talked herself out of this, and admitted that perhaps this was a bad idea, she could've turned away, and run while she still could...but something drove her to stay... she was... curious. As crazy as this may seem, she wanted to experience first hand what she could be dealing with.

And besides, once she stepped inside her office - her anxiety seemed to have disappeared. It was a small office, tight, and cozy, and seemed surprisingly safe, and Kelly sighed.

_Get it together. You're just being paranoid about this entire thing, Kelly. You are here because you love what you do, so enjoy it._

To motivate herself, she started to poke around her office, get a feel of where everything is, and where she could put her things, and how she can make herself feel at home. She looked at the paintings of flowers, and beautiful green trees, the carpet with a beautiful, elegant Victorian pattern, and the pale peach color of the walls.

In the center of the office was of course, her desk, in front of it, a chair for a patient to sit on. In the center of the desk was a candle that made the room smell like cinnamon rolls. It was just as she thought, her office, did appear cozy, a surprising trait from the gloomy atmosphere of the hallways outside of her office. She thought that this was perhaps, the result of the therapist office being moved upstairs, but still, it was cozy.

The only thing she had an issue with, honestly, was the fluorescent lights, which occasionally flickered every now and then as she stood in the room.

_Alright. _She thought. _This is more like it. _

She swept in the office with another gaze - _her office, _and now it was time for her to do a little free roaming. If she was going to make herself feel at home in this place, then she needed to get a feel of this entire place in general. Feeling confident as ever, she took a step outside, and thought of the first place she should check out.

* * *

The Isolation room.

No, she wasn't thinking about going inside. This room, looked like it was made for everyone but a therapist like herself to use, much less go into, but it was this room, or the hallway that had a ton of these 'Isolation rooms' that made her want to come here.

These rooms were like jail cells. They weren't like any of the normal patient cells she seen on her way here. A regular patient is given what it looked like to be just a regular bedroom, but with bleach white, bare walls, a bed, one window, and a room for a bathroom... and just white _everything. _It was plain looking - but compared to being in isolation, those rooms were like paradise.

Being in Isolation, meant being in a room with padded walls, a padded floor, and a padded ceiling. There were no windows in any of these rooms, which meant a patient spending a whole day in Isolation meant sitting in darkness. Kelly wondered why anyone would act up in this place and then get sent here.

Just the thought of sitting alone in this room at night sent chills down her spine.

"Not a pretty sight is it?"

A voice, and one that she heard earlier today, drew her attention. She turned around, and there, behind her, stood one of the patients she saw being escorted by Jamie earlier... Randy Orton.

"Isolation rooms..." Kelly looked between the room she stood staring at now, and then Randy Orton. "You were in one of these rooms when I came here... do you have to go back?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

There was a hint of a smile that touch one corner of his lips, and Kelly did her best not to get angry with him. "Oh, I was just on my way to my cell, and I saw you make your way down here... and then I sort of followed you."

"Why'd you follow me?"

"I thought you might want to know a bit more about these rooms."

She looked down the hallway, at each isolation room, and then back at him. "Hunter already told me what I need to know."

"If that's so - then why are you down here looking at these rooms?" He asked cocking his head to the side. Kelly swept in his entire appearance. Amusement lurked behind those deep blue eyes, and he was smirking at her now, looking as if he knew something that she didn't.

Kelly sighed in defeat, not wanting to argue with him. "What else is there to know?"

"Not much, but this..." He pointed into the room they both stood in front of. "You take away everything that makes a man human... and you leave him with no one else but himself." He said in a brooding tone.

Kelly looked at him again - she _really_ looked at him. His eyes which held amusement before were darkened with something else, something that Kelly couldn't quite put her finger on.

He looked haunted.

"Give him three days, and three nights, a week maybe... and next thing you know, they all end up having to kick the bucket."

Kelly looked shocked. "Kick the bucket? You mean... they... die?!"

He looked at her again. "Yes. They choke on their inability to survive the darkness, and being stripped away of everything that makes them human, and they die."

Kelly was speechless - and Randy still had that haunted look on his face. "But sometimes, it's the question of how they die. Is it their slow descent into madness or is it something else?"

"Something else? Wh - What do you mean?"

"Orton! Get in your cell! Or it's Isolation for you, you understand?" It was Jamie, that came running down the hallway, barking orders at Randy, and breaking their moment together.

"See ya later, Princess." Randy said, breaking his haunted stoic mask, and replacing it with a cocky smile. He was escorted away, again, by Jamie Noble, and they left Kelly who stood a little dumbfounded at Randy's remarks.

_Something... else?_

* * *

**A/N: **There ya have it! Chapter 3! Review and lemme know what you think!


	4. Field of Innocence

**A/N**: I'm putting off poetry for another chapter in this story, I don't know when it will be, but I'm still planning for this story to have some sort of poetry in it. So keep a look out (if it's coming) &amp; no Ranse Truman quote for this chapter here. This chapter is inspired/based off Evanescence song, "Field of Innocence" and that's what this chapter is going to be called. :) I'm glad that some of you are enjoying this story! I don't own anything, the lyrics belong to Evanescence/Amy Lee and is only being used for entertainment purposes only.

This chapter is in Randy's POV, and it will also serve as an introduction to a female patient (another being mentioned) in The Institute. I wanted to do something a bit different instead of having The Institute be an all male institution, besides, I love Paige, so I had to write her in this story.

* * *

_**"**I still remember the world_  
_ From the eyes of a child_  
_ Slowly those feelings_  
_ Were clouded by what I know now.**"**_

Evanescence "Field of Innocence", Origin_  
_

* * *

**Randy's POV**  
~

People ask me all the time, do I regret being sent to The Institute? Do I regret knowing that something is not right about the death of my father? Do I regret all those times being sent to solitary, being in that fucking isolation room alone, hearing pained screams and cries, and people dying?

Believe it or not, I don't. I don't regret anything.

"Randy? Are you awake?" A voice said calling my name through the wall. I stood up from my bed, and walked over to a peep hole, where next door was Paige. She is seen peering her eye through the hole, searching for me, and when I finally show my face she backs away to show her own. Paige is one of the fewest female patients in The Institute, her and AJ Lee being the first two female patients to ever set foot in the building as patients.

They're rooms are the same as everyone else's, except the doors concerning their safety have extra locks in case some looney decided to take a walk on the wild side, and slip inside one of their rooms. Doing so, will give them a whole month in solitary, and being in those isolation rooms will make someone want to claw their eyes out because they couldn't take the darkness anymore.

"Yeah, I'm here, Paige."

"How'd it go with the girl?"

"You mean the new therapist? She's so dense, she has no idea what she is getting herself into." I commented with a shake of my head, and Paige mimics my action with a shake of her own.

"Do you really think she'll help the crazy ones though?" She asked, her thick accent bouncing of the walls of her room. "I mean, I know there's some of us here that are legitimately crazy, do you think she'll help them?"

"I don't know. She doesn't look like much, so I'll be amazed if she can actually do something with them." With another sigh, I slumped against the wall, next to the hole where I talk to Paige.

"What's the matter, pumpkin?" She asks through the wall.

"I just wish none of this ever happened." I mumbled under my breath. "And I'm not talking about my father's death," I said for clarification. "I mean, everything from this God damn building being built to me being thrown in here. If I could rewind time, if I could take it this shit all back, or just stop shit from happening, I would... but I can't... least not now."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked through the wall.

"Well, I was thrown in here to get the truth about my father's death. I can't let myself go back into wishing that none of this happened, I mean, I wish it didn't happen, but the point is that it _did_ happen, my father _is _dead, and there's nothing I can do about it besides learn the truth."

"You'll learn soon, Randy." Paige said through the wall. "As long as you don't get yourself killed, you'll learn."

"I know." I nodded firmly, and thought for a second. How could I learn the truth without dealing with the likes of the COs, and Hunter being on my case 24/7? "I got it."

"What is it?"

"I'll use the therapist as a guide. I'll get her to dig up what I need to know about this place, about my father's death."

"Even solitary?" Paige asked curiously. She knew that I've been in there not a lot since I got here, but enough to know that there's more to behind those Isolation rooms, something evil lurked behind those closed doors, and I have a strange feeling that there might be - something else. Not so much of something that can't be _seen _\- but someone... in this place has to be behind it too.

"Yeah, even that." I said as I thought this. "I just get a feeling that there's more to those rooms, Paige. I don't know what it is, but if I have to I'll -"

"Randy, no. That's crazy! Another trip to solitary!?"

"If I have to Paige, then I'll do it."

"And you're still going through with using the therapist?"

"Yeah." I said. "She has to find out the truth about this place anyway, and since she's already so deep into these damn walls, then she _needs _to learn, because ignorance is bliss, and once that is taken away, she'll be left with this thirst for finding out what's what in this place."

"Hey!" There was a bang outside Randy's door. "Light's out, Orton!"

"Good night, Paige."

"Night, pumpkin."

* * *

_In the darkness of The Institute, Randy suddenly wakes up in the dim lighted area of the control room to the Isolation rooms. "Isolation!? What the? Is that -" The lights in the control room began to flicker slowly, on... off... on... off... and then he started to hear voices coming from the solitary rooms.  
_

_"The sound! SO BLACK! Sliding all around me the black!" _

_"Help me..." _

_He heard Shane's voice from inside the control room. "You have to let them out, Dad. Two patients have already killed themselves, there'll be an investigation!" _

_And then he heard Vince's voice from inside the control room. "They'll stay in the darkness until they learn! One way or the other!" He shouted.  
_

_And then he heard Shane's voice again. "But what could they possibly be learning?!" Randy took a step toward the voices in the control room, and the vision in his dream, suddenly started to blur, and two images of Shane and Vince appeared before him, and before Randy had a chance to react, he realized... that this dream he was having, was him reliving some of the history in The Institute.  
_

_"That to live is to die... a little bit... everyday."_

* * *

**A/N:** Yay, we learn about some history! Oh, &amp; In case you are confused, Randy basically figures out by his dream that Vince, and the COs, keep the patients in Isolation/Solitary to die, confirming his assumption that it's not just supernatural forces at work that kill the patients while they're in those rooms.

It's kind of a short chapter, but it's about time we shed some light on the history behind The Institute don't you think? And yes, there will be plenty of Randy &amp; Kelly alone time, I can promise you all that! Anyway, review my beautiful people. :)


	5. The Face Inside

**A/N: **Will you look at that? That didn't take long at all. RT quote in Chapter 6, as this chapter is called **_The Face Inside._** Based off Linkin Park's Papercut/PPR:Kut song. I don't own anything.

* * *

"I know just what it feels like  
To have a voice in the back of my head..."

~ Linkin Park "PPr:Kut", Reanimation

* * *

The next day for Kelly started kind of slow. When she arrived back to the Institute after being shown around the building, and after her encounter with Randy Orton, Kelly expected her official first day on the job to be a busy one. And yet, here she was sitting alone in the big chair of her office, expecting her first patient to walk through the door at any given moment.

_Wait a minute. _She thought to herself, she was sure that Hunter talked about when she was going to have one on one meetings with some of the patients. When she came she was given a stack of papers each detailing the experience and what to look forward to as a psychiatrist/therapist in The Institute, and by God, she was so tired she didn't have the time to look or read through any of them.

Fuck, she thought. There she goes again, her mind, her heart and body going through a plethora of emotions, a battle she thought she had won yesterday... countless of times she told herself that arriving at the Institute was the best thing that had ever happened to her, but then again she thought back to her encounter with Randy Orton and the things he had said about the isolation room.

What was it about the isolation room that made going inside and spending the night in there seem so terrible? Was it really that horrific? Was it those rooms in particular that gave The Institute a bad reputation? No, she thought, there has to be more to the story, ... at least more as to why The Institute is known for being notorious, ... unless Randy is just trying to play with her.

There was a knock on the office door, and Kelly shouted, "Come in!"

Dean Ambrose walks in the room wearing a smug look on his face, and Kelly gestures for him to sit down. "No, thank you, m'am. I think I'd rather stand."

Kelly looked puzzled. "OK. That's fine. Mr. Ambrose,"

"Can we cut the formalities, please." Said Dean, looking a little exasperated. "I can't stand it. I've spent years in this Hell Hole dealing with know it all's who pretend to be nice to us when in reality they're a bunch of assholes who in the end all wants us dead in the ground anyway."

Kelly sat dumbfounded, staring at the self proclaimed Lunatic Fringe in shock. "OK then, Dean, let me just be the first to tell you that I'm new here."

Dean mockingly, shook his head and remarked, "As if I didn't already know," Kelly looked at him through narrowed eye and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that there's been talk of your appearing here for the very first time." Dean remarked as he rolled his eyes, "And don't you remember? I saw you yesterday when Hunter was showing you around. That tool - I can't stand him."

"Well, since I am here, I will let all be known that I will not be like any other authoritative figure that everyone deals with on the daily basis. As long as I am here, in this office, what I say goes, and what is said in this room will stay in this room."

"Well, the little girl's got some balls." someone remarked. Both Kelly &amp; Dean turned to the door to find Randy peeking inside smirking at the two of them. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was scheduled to have my session with Dean," Randy said, striding into the room and bringing a chair along with him. He placed it next to the chair Dean was supposed to sit in, and took a seat. "They believe both Dean and I are a little crazy in the head, crazy in the same way, so what the hell they said, it'd make perfect sense to throw the both of us in the same session _only for today._"

"For today?" Dean asked scowling at him. "Yup, so it looks like you and Princess here are stuck with me."

"_Don't call me, Princess." _

"Yes, Your Majesty."

* * *

Kelly learned a lot today about Dean Ambrose.

He was known in Linden Pines for being extremely aggressive, a man who isolated himself (except for two people, that being his brothers, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns) from the town because of his unpredictable actions. He walks in The Institute as a lone wolf, and since the disbandment of his friendship with Seth Rollins, the only people he seems to talk to is Roman Reigns, and Renee Young, his girlfriend. Watching him speak, and tell his story, Kelly could see that Dean does not mind the state he is in, and this could be one of the reasons why he was put here by his own girlfriend.

Because if there's anything she's learned, denial is the first step in learning if someone is unstable.

She learned of his family, his father who was thrown in jail for being a drug dealer, and abandoning him in his childhood, and his mother, who struggled living her life with him, and began to prostitute herself to support her son. Since then, she's learned that Dean Ambrose is a man carrying a ton of psychological scars, and is hell bent on bringing pain to those who brought pain to him.

Pain to bullies, to betrayers, to people who used him, abused him, everything... and honestly, to Kelly, it's hard to see how Dean is considered unstable to someone's eyes, because truthfully, underneath all of his crazy antics, is a man who's had his heart broken one too many times.

Kelly decided that she would become the one person Dean would learn to trust, and she would be the one person to give him all that he yearned for in his life.

She'll be his friend first, and therapist, later.

After Dean spoke of his past, he left, leaving her alone with Randy Orton.

"It's tragic to learn about someone's life story, isn't it?" Randy asked circling around her desk, and eying his therapist. Kelly stared back at him, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just seizing up what I have to deal with for the next few months. And I'm thinking, just how easy it would be for this place to eat you alive, Ms. Kelly." Randy said with a shake of his head.

Kelly scowled at him. "Well, why don't you sit down and we can talk about how this place will eat me alive?" She challenged. Randy smirked at her, "No, I'd rather stand, because I have a feeling this is going to be a quick session."

"Fine, tell me."

"Did you ever come in here having second thoughts?" Randy asked staring at her through a leveled expression. He again, started to circle around her desk, seizing her up much like a viper stalking it's prey.

Kelly bit her lip thoughtfully. Was she that easy to see through? "Because if there's anything I learned about being in here, is that everyone has a face inside of themselves. Everyone likes to put up a front for the sake of painting a good image like this fucking place, for example." He pointed around the office, and out the door.

"People want to act like this place is rainbows and unicorns, and how this place cures the crazy, and brings out the good in them... but this place has a face inside too, and it's ugly."

"Are you talking about Isolation?" Kelly asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm talking about everything." Randy said. "When you came here, I could easily see that you look a little unsure of yourself. You tried your best to look forward to being this therapist, and unlike everyone else, I know that you genuinely want to help people. But I know that there's a face inside, somewhere underneath that pretty face of yours that told you to run, and you didn't listen, and now you're already in too deep. And yeah, you can quit, that's always an option, but your mind is always going to come back to this place, and I know it will."

Kelly sat staring at the wooden desk. It's true that she did feel a little unsure of herself, it's true that she did have doubts, but she was so driven by this curiosity, that she forced herself to stay here, and help as many people as she could.

She hated this, she had never felt so exposed, but at the same time, she felt ... thirsty, thirsty for a little knowledge. "Randy," Kelly said in a steady voice. "I can quit, but you're right in saying that my mind will always come back to what makes this place so... interesting."

She stood up to stare him down, not feeling the least intimated. "I want to help as many people as I can, but as long as I am here... I want..." She said, clenching her teeth.

He stood across from her, inching a bit closer to her face. "What do you want?"

"I want you ... to enlighten me." She said, her tone final. "Everything, I want to know everything."

* * *

**The start of learning the history to The Institute will be a long one. I'm not sure if this story will be as long as thirty chapters, but to have at least 20 chapters is my goal. Review guys! :D  
**


	6. A Lonely Place To Die

_"In the end none of it matters: the size of our family, how much we have, or who we count as friends. In the end we all die alone. It's not death I fear, it's dying here."  
_

~ Ranse Truman, "A Lonely Place To Die", _The Suffering  
_

* * *

His last session with Ms. Kelly Blank went surprisingly well for Randy. Anyone coming in the Institute whether it be a patient or a worker, should have common knowledge behind the building that stood on blood soaked grounds, but she didn't. She came in drunk on ignorance, high on stubbornness. It seemed that even if she heard about any sort of history, any mention of bad reputation of The Institute that she chose to ignore it instead, all in the sake of getting her job. Honestly, he didn't think she would easily accept the offer in learning a bit more about The Institute, but the blonde bombshell did it nonetheless.

Now to teach her what he knew of The Institute's history he had to survive the harsh environment of asylum first.

When he came here, he could almost _feel _the darkness trying to eat away at his skin. It was matter of his father's death, and the fact that he died here that made his skin crawl, it was the amount of blood he knew this place had soaking the grounds that made his stomach churn, and he was surprised that he didn't throw up any of the asylum's God awful food.

He sat alone, in his cell, slumped against the wall - drunken with tiredness. He had trouble sleeping last night, after the new dose of information he received regarding the solitary rooms, he spent the night staring, burning holes through grey brick walls at trying to figure out the meaning of his dream.

Obviously he knew - that something dark lurked inside these walls, and it seemed heavily tied to the history of The Institute, and the matter of his father's death.

His father committed suicide... and the Institute had shut down soon after that? _Bullshit_.

Sure, he'll give credit where it's due, if he was on the other side of the law, protecting it, and enforcing it in Linden Pines, then he probably would've believed his death to be a suicide too. But the law enforcement was so naive about his father's death, they refused to look deep into the suicide, the matter of why the Institute was closed just days afterwards.

It was all too sketchy, but no one chose to acknowledge this, everyone chose to sweep the matter under the rug... and what's even worse, whenever there is a death with no evidence, the report goes straight to the trash, and is immediately deemed as a suicide. Even with possible leads coming from close relatives, there is no further investigation into the case, once the case is closed, it's put on the shelf and is never opened up again.

Families living in Linden Pines go on with their lives without knowing the actual truth behind a certain crime, a certain death in the family. Believe it or not, that's the harsh truth about Linden Pines. No one gives a flying fuck about the piece of shit town, so why try to help it if it's already going down the drain anyway?

Suddenly, everything around him started to fade away... his present surroundings became blurry, he could feel his vision leaving him, and when he blinked, in the matter of seconds, he found himself being carried into The Institute... his first day into the Institute.

* * *

_He can remember that day clearly._

_When he came inside The Institute, carried by a group of men restraining him, the entire place reeked. It smelled like a rotten corpse had been sitting by for days untouched, and Randy had to hold his breath to avoid throwing up on the floor right then and there. _

_Aside from his arrival, and the smell which had been eventually gotten rid of, his first day had gone surprisingly well. But he did not arrive in the asylum in peace - he was so driven by wanting to know the truth that on the first night here he broke through the Institute offices, to look through documents regarding the history of this place. _

_He learned pretty much all he could about solitary confinement, the isolation rooms that everyone feared spending a night in. He heard talk of solitary his first day here, how it's almost impossible for someone to survive three nights in the cell, and that it's rare that someone ever does - and when he heard that it only fueled his desire to wanting to know the truth of his father's death._

_When he got caught, he was immediately thrown into solitary. Of course he didn't regret breaking through the office, and learning about solitary because by the time he got caught, he was already prepared for the abyss waiting for him when he was thrown into solitary confinement._

_That night, he sat slumped against the wall staring hard into the darkness, barricading his heart and soul from being suffocated by the evil that hung dry in the air. He sat retaining his heart's purity, as whispers of death came at him threatening to choke the light straight out of him, and incredibly, he heard a voice. _

_A **dark **voice, speaking to him in a menacing tone._

_"Been... waiting... for... you..."_

_And that was his first experience with a supernatural entity. He came out the confinement hard as a rock, he seemed completely unfazed by what he experienced in his first night in Isolation, which was a surprise to everyone in The Institute._

_But that's not all - he also heard a piercing blood curdling scream that echoed even through the thickest walls of solitary, someone ended their life in solitary, and Randy heard their last moments first hand. The inmates all believe Randy to be completely fearless, but if he had to pick a worst fear living in the Institute, then **this **was it, __death in solitary. __He would rather die in sunlight, then in pitch black darkness. _

_Another blood curdling scream rang throughout the air, but this one seemed a lot more clear. The scream broke through his dream, his flashback, and it pulled at him._

* * *

When he came to, the piercing scream finally ceased. Chills ran down his spine as he recalled the scream, and Randy put his hand on his heart to calm his heart from beating out of his chest. Even when he wasn't in solitary, he could sometimes hear the last moments of someone's life end through horrific screams, and it still scared him.

The scream had been too clear in his dream, and he doesn't remember another person dying on his first day. "Randy?" Once he heard Paige's voice through the wall, it only confirmed his next thought.

Someone had died in solitary.

* * *

**A/N: Not much dialogue, but some action. A death in The Institute should shake things up a bit.**


End file.
